ALCSRB Chapter 28

The next morning, Jiang Mingyi was sleeping soundly, hugging his pillow, when he was woken up

His eyes were drowsy and only half-open, unable to focus. All he could hear was a sharp voice relentlessly attacking his ears.

“Time to get up, sleepyhead——”

“Time to get up, sleepyhead——”

“The sun’s already up——”

“If you don’t get up, I’ll spank your butt——”

The annoying voice and its endlessly repeated lines were like a diligent woodpecker tapping away: da-da-da, da-da-da.

Jiang Mingyi couldn’t take the brain-drilling noise anymore. All the remnants of sleep were thoroughly pecked away.

“So noisy.” He looked toward the sound and saw it was an alarm clock. The center of the clock was designed like a mechanical woodpecker—no wonder the da-da-da was so lifelike.

He reached out to smack it, but after hitting it twice, he realized it wouldn’t shut off.

“What the hell?” He picked up the alarm clock and fiddled with it for a while, but couldn’t find the off switch. “What kind of design is this?!”

Frustrated, Jiang Mingyi was about to throw it when a hand reached over and grabbed his arm.

The slightly rough pad of a finger brushed across his palm and took away the chattering alarm clock.

Shen Xingyan leaned over slightly and pressed a button on the clock. The woodpecker stopped moving.

“Looks like it worked pretty well,” he commented with a trace of amusement in his gaze as he looked at Jiang Mingyi. “Since you’re awake, hurry up and wash up.”

Seeing him walk away with the alarm clock, Jiang Mingyi snapped out of his daze and jumped out of bed to follow. “Why couldn’t I turn off that alarm?”

Shen Xingyan had to stop when his clothes were tugged. He turned the clock around, revealing a fingerprint scanner on the back. “Naturally, because I set it so only my fingerprint can turn it off.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Realization dawned on Jiang Mingyi, and he looked pained. “Bro, don’t tell me you plan to use that thing to torment me every day from now on.”

The smile on Shen Xingyan’s handsome face was charming and gentle. “As long as you get up before it starts, there’s no need for a wake-up service.”

“…”

—

When they went downstairs, Su Wanxin was surprised to see him up so early.

Upon hearing that the two brothers were heading to the company together, she smiled warmly. “Xiao Yi, make sure to learn well from your brother at the company. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand something—don’t worry about troubling your brother.”

Jiang Mingyi responded weakly with an “oh.” Shen Jili placed a steamed bun in his bowl. “Xiao Yi, do you want to ride with Dad to the company?”

Ooh—this could work.

He could act cute with Shen Jili and find an excuse to sneak back home halfway.

Just as he was about to agree, Shen Xingyan cut off his little scheme.

“No need. Since he’s coming with me to the company, he’ll ride with me, of course.”

Jiang Mingyi immediately shot him a resentful look, which Shen Xingyan completely ignored.

Shen Jili thought for a moment and didn’t insist. He said to Jiang Mingyi, “Since your brother’s fighting me for you, I guess he needs you more.”

After finishing his breakfast, he stood up and gave Jiang Mingyi a pat on the shoulder before leaving. “Do your best to help your brother.”

Jiang Mingyi watched his retreating back and cried out in his heart: Dad, I’d much rather help you!

“Alright, hurry up and eat.” Shen Xingyan placed a peeled boiled egg into his bowl, then continued eating his own breakfast.

Jiang Mingyi poked the egg with his chopsticks. The golden yolk oozed out from the white, and he suddenly felt that his days ahead would be just like this egg—easily manipulated at someone else’s whim.

—

The car drove steadily toward the company. Jiang Mingyi sat in the passenger seat and glanced at Shen Xingyan, who was focused on driving.

“Bro, how come Assistant Qin isn’t driving today?”

Shen Xingyan kept his eyes on the road. “You didn’t complain when I couldn’t drive you to and from school during summer break. Now I’m driving you to and from work, and you have a problem with that?”

“I’m not going to work at the company.”

“Says who?”

It wasn’t until they arrived at the company that Jiang Mingyi understood what that meant.

“Starting today, you’ll stay by my side as an assistant.”

Once inside the CEO’s office, Shen Xingyan instructed Qin Hao to hand over a set of prepared clothes and an ID badge to Jiang Mingyi.

“Put on the suit. I’ll assign you some tasks in a bit.” With that, he walked straight to his desk and began his workday.

Jiang Mingyi held the clothes and ID badge, staring wide-eyed at Qin Hao.

Qin Hao pointed toward the break room. “Young Master, you can go change in there first.”

Jiang Mingyi glanced at the break room, then looked around the office. Realizing he couldn’t get out of it, he sighed. “Then where’s my desk?”

Qin Hao pointed at another desk.

Jiang Mingyi suddenly understood. “So that’s not your desk, Assistant Qin?” No wonder there was only a computer on it and nothing else.

He was about to say more, but Shen Xingyan cut him off. “We’re already ten minutes into working hours. You two seem very relaxed.”

Jiang Mingyi pressed his lips together and, seeing Qin Hao immediately exit the office, had no choice but to head into the break room with the clothes.

Inside, the room was simply furnished with a bed, wardrobe, and bathroom. It wasn’t large, but it was very comfortable. Jiang Mingyi even spotted a full-length mirror—probably something Shen Xingyan used to tidy up his appearance.

After changing into the full formal outfit, Jiang Mingyi looked at his reflection in the mirror. Young and handsome, he actually gave off a bit of an elite vibe—quite different from his usual self.

Shen Xingyan, busy working at his computer, looked up at the sound and saw him come out. He gave him a once-over.

The young man wore a crisp white shirt with the hem neatly tucked into his suit trousers. His slim waist and tall, delicate figure gave off a refined, attractive air.

Jiang Mingyi had always been fair-skinned, and now, in formalwear, he looked even more energetic and spirited. Shen Xingyan, rarely impressed, gave a rare compliment: “You do look like an assistant now—just a bit too tender.”

Jiang Mingyi beamed at the first half of that sentence, but immediately pouted at the second half.

Shen Xingyan noticed the change in his expression but didn’t say anything. Instead, he pointed to the computer. “There’s a new game on there. You can try it out.”

Jiang Mingyi blinked in surprise—had he misunderstood Shen Xingyan?

He had thought he was being dragged to the company to be worked to death, but now it seemed all he had to do was play games under Shen Xingyan’s supervision. Not too bad.

Walking over to the desk, he glanced at the computer specs.

Wow—this was top-of-the-line hardware.

This was going to be a smooth gaming experience.

Seeing the delighted look on his face, Shen Xingyan gave him his task: “If you encounter any issues while playing, you’ll need to take notes and compile a report for me.”

Jiang Mingyi paused mid-way through powering on the computer. “I thought I was just supposed to play the game—why do I have to take notes too?”

“You are playing the game,” Shen Xingyan explained, “but not just for fun. Tomorrow there’s a partnership meeting with Tiancheng Group. This game is one of their upcoming projects.”

Only then did Jiang Mingyi realize that the game was a project under a subsidiary of Shen Group’s potential partner, Tiancheng Group. Tiancheng wanted Shen Group to invest in and help promote the large-scale online game, although Shen Group rarely got involved in gaming.

Even though Tiancheng would handle everything else and Shen Group only needed to provide financial backing, Shen Xingyan was still cautious.

He had already had professionals test the game—asking Jiang Mingyi to try it was essentially part of the assessment.

“If it were something else, I might not be very good at it, but gaming? That’s my thing.” Jiang Mingyi, who had been a little reluctant, now rolled up his sleeves and dove eagerly into the game.

Shen Xingyan saw how focused and serious he was, and nodded in satisfaction.

The entire morning flew by. Immersed in the game, Jiang Mingyi didn’t notice the time until someone knocked on his desk, snapping him back to reality.

“It’s twelve o’clock. Go eat first.”

Only then did Jiang Mingyi reluctantly set down the mouse and followed Shen Xingyan to the cafeteria.

As they entered, several employees naturally recognized the president of the group. However, some were unfamiliar with Jiang Mingyi and began whispering.

“Who’s that handsome young guy next to President Shen?”

“You don’t know? That’s the chairman’s youngest son, President Shen’s younger brother.”

“Oh, so he’s the little prince.”

“Dummy, the crown prince is President Shen. That one’s more like the little royal.”

…

Shen Xingyan didn’t mind the murmurs at all. “You’ve been to the company with Dad before?”

Jiang Mingyi was glancing around at the food options. Upon hearing the question, he nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been here.”

Considering his father’s personality, Shen Xingyan wasn’t surprised he’d brought someone to the company.

The two got their meals and chose a quiet spot to sit.

While eating, Jiang Mingyi took out his phone and started texting Pei Shiqing on WeChat.

[Jiang Mingyi]: My brother dragged me to the company today. Guess what he made me do?

[Pei Shiqing]: Why do I feel like you’re pretty excited?

[Jiang Mingyi]: Not bad. I thought I’d be worked to death, but turns out he just wants me to play a game. [Smug.jpg]

[Pei Shiqing]: Wow! Your brother’s that nice? Letting you game at the office? [Jealous.jpg]

[Pei Shiqing]: Not like my brother. Said he was going to punish me and made me run errands for him. I’ve been running between departments all morning.

[Pei Shiqing]: [Dog collapsing.jpg]

[Pei Shiqing]: [Dog with broken legs.jpg]

Shen Xingyan looked up to see the boy across from him eating and playing on his phone, even chuckling to himself now and then.

He tapped the table to remind him, “Eat properly. No phones.”

Jiang Mingyi gave a soft “Oh” and turned his phone face down on the table. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Ge, can I send that game to Xiao Qing?”

Shen Xingyan paused slightly while holding his chopsticks. “Why?”

“It’s easier to spot problems with two people playing,” Jiang Mingyi said, blinking his bright, clear peach blossom eyes, the corners slightly upturned. “Then you’ll have a list of issues to bring to your negotiations with Tiancheng Group. If they want our Shen Group to invest, it won’t be that easy.”

Seeing how smug he looked, Shen Xingyan chuckled. “Up to you.”

Jiang Mingyi immediately picked up his phone and messaged Pei Shiqing the good news.

In the afternoon, he curled up in the office playing the game nonstop. He even swiped a headset from Qin Hao and played online with Pei Shiqing, having the time of his life.

While Shen Xingyan went to attend a meeting, Jiang Mingyi didn’t move an inch.

Watching him so completely absorbed like a kid addicted to the internet, Shen Xingyan shook his head helplessly.

The next morning, when Jiang Mingyi came downstairs, the dark circles under his eyes gave Su Wanxin quite a shock.

“What happened to you…” she asked, looking at her youngest son with concern.

Jiang Mingyi patted his cheeks to wake himself up a bit, then shuffled over to sit beside Shen Xingyan and said excitedly, “Bro, I pulled an all-nighter and finally found a bug in the game!”

Shen Xingyan immediately noticed his condition. He put down his chopsticks, his gaze a bit cold. “Right now, you look more like a bug yourself. A solid black one. Anyone who doesn’t know better would think your eyes are huge and taking up half your face.”

Jiang Mingyi rubbed his dark circles awkwardly. “I haven’t stayed up late in a while, so the effects are more obvious now.”

After breakfast, when they were heading out, Shen Xingyan was planning to tell him to stay home and rest for the day—only to see Jiang Mingyi already sitting dutifully in the passenger seat.

“Let’s go, bro. Time to put some pressure on Tiancheng Group.”

He spoke with full energy, but halfway through the drive, he was already swaying, on the verge of falling asleep.

When they got to the office, Shen Xingyan told him to go sleep in the break room.

“The people from Tiancheng Group won’t be here until the afternoon. No need to rush.”

Relieved, Jiang Mingyi went into the lounge, lay down on the bed, and was out like a light.

When he woke up and checked the time, he realized he had slept for two whole hours—it was nearly noon.

Shen Xingyan wasn’t in the office. Jiang Mingyi looked around and didn’t know what to do for a moment.

Just as he was hesitating about whether to go find his brother, the office door was suddenly shoved open.

“Where’s Shen Xingyan? Who does he think he is saying my game has bugs?” a loud voice roared into the room.

Startled, Jiang Mingyi turned around and was shocked to see a stranger barging in.

“Who are you?”

The guy was wearing a flashy T-shirt and looked pretty young, but he didn’t seem to have a great temper.

That haughty way of looking at people down his nose was seriously irritating.

Jiang Mingyi narrowed his eyes and was just about to say something when the man’s expression suddenly changed and he rushed toward him.

“You’re Shen Xingyan? Huh, you don’t look like how my big brother described you.” The guy came right up to Jiang Mingyi. The aggressive expression from before vanished, replaced by a faint blush that climbed up his handsome face.

He cleared his throat and looked a bit embarrassed. “Uh, Shen Xingyan, right? I’m Du Zhihe, a deputy manager in the game development department of a Tiancheng Group subsidiary. My older brother is Chairman Du of Tiancheng. You’ve probably heard of me.”

Jiang Mingyi looked at this young man with a completely baffled expression.

“What are you talking about?”

“Um, I fell in love with you at first sight. Can I be your boyfriend?”

They both spoke at the same time.

Jiang Mingyi was completely stunned.

Du Zhihe’s face turned beet red, and all the imposing attitude from earlier vanished—he looked as shy as a blushing bride.

Outside the office door, Shen Xingyan happened to hear that line. His expression darkened slightly as he turned to the man beside him and said, “Chairman Du, it seems today is not a good time to discuss business.”